Codi James was not used to luxury. Living on Earth could not have been more different from the dead end hunk of rock she'd grown up on. It was a different world in every sense. The city of Minneapolis Saint Paul gleamed like a forest of glass and steel, a jewel that studded the green of the landscape. Her personal apartment – paid for by the Battlecast Gauntlet Academy – was no exception.

Taking a final gulp of coffee from the mug she set it down on the gleaming kitchen side. Everything in the apartment gleamed and shone, every surface reflecting and shimmering in sunlight. It consisted of a kitchen, a large front room complete with massive tele-screen and mobile communication beam, a bedroom and a bathroom. Codi spent a lot of time there, revelling in the possession of an actual home.

She looked out of the window at the city she'd adopted as her new home and took a deep breath of the cool, pure air. Her vantage point on the nineteenth floor gave her an uninterrupted view of the magnificence. From ground to sky the world was a clean, unblemished crystal at the centre of human civilisation. The sky cars had taken a bit of getting used to – her home planet of Kantha had no such luxuries – but she eventually adjusted to seeing the lines of box-shaped flyers zipping between buildings, their paths locked onto the more conventional ground roads.

Down on those roads sleek road cars flashed through the streets like bullets, a never ending flow of machinery moving around Minneapolis Saint Paul like water through pipes. And then there were the people – millions of them. A mega city like this spanned thousands of square kilometres in every direction, housing well over thirty million citizens within its boundary who formed the lifeblood of the urban colossus.

Today, however, Codi had other things to be concerned with beyond aesthetics. Today was the first day of the Gauntlet preseason, the first day she would be testing her mettle against the members of the top academy in colonised space. Having been granted a place at Battlecast on a scholarship Codi was under no illusions that she had to perform. There would be plenty of kids at the academy who wouldn't take too kindly to a new transfer usurping their potential place in the starting team.

There was a time that she would have shied away form challenges, a time where giving up was commonplace, but not anymore. Today a sense of determination and even excitement filled her. She looked forward to silencing any and all who doubted her right to compete under the Battlecast banner. With any luck she'd get to crack a few heads in the process.

She picked up her team jacket and slipped her arms into it, feeling the soft, velvet material snuggle against her body. With a blue torso and cyan sleeves the jacket displayed the Battlecast colours in no uncertain manner. It gave her a sense of total identity, the one thing her old academy had lacked. The now defunct Brax-Delta Academy hadn't even been able to afford team uniforms for last year's competition.

Her rucksack was already packed, filled with clothes mostly, a personal tablet loaded with music, books and movies, and her personal set of training gear. Unlike her old academy which had barely scraped together enough money for a gym, Battlecast held provided a stunning array of specialised gear packages. Everything from the grip tread on her shoe to the size of her head guard had been tailored to fit.

Slinging the rucksack over her shoulder, Codi strode from the flat, passing her keycard over the lock sensor as she went. The smooth, alabaster door slid shut with a faint hiss behind her, and she set off toward the elevator. The interior of the machine was just like everything else: spotless and smooth, with a single ordered panel containing every button. She punched the ground floor switch and waited.

Her stomach lurched a bit when the elevator leapt into motion. That was one thing she was still getting used to. The elevator in her building moved at astonishing speeds and in a matter of seconds she found she'd dropped nineteen floors and the doors were open.

She took a couple of unsteady steps before her legs adjusted. One of the other Battlecast kids had explained the affect to her, something they called Ground Leg. It was common enough for people unused to the system. The elevators descended with such ferocious speed that people who'd grown up without them could take at least a year to get acclimatised.

Stepping out into the immaculate foyer of her flat block she could see that a contingent of other Battlecast fighters, billeted in the same block, were waiting for her. As she began to cross the space toward them a figure detached itself from the group and moved to meet her. The girl's white hair shone as brightly as the rest of the city, long and straight like a waterfall of light. She didn't walk so much as glide across the floor with an unnerving smoothness and grace fashioned through years of learning to control her body.

This was Ripple Thawborn, a born and bred Gauntlet fighter.

"Morning," Ripple said in her emotionless floating monotone. Her voice never seemed to waver from that tone of surreal calm. "Are you all set?"

"Pretty much." Codi smiled thinly. She looked over Ripple's shoulder to see some of the other Battlecast potentials casting disapproving looks in her direction. "How's my street cred. looking?"

"Ignore them. They're just jealous."

Codi's smile broadened. A year ago she was the one being jealous. "We'll see how they feel once they've seen me in action."

"I've seen it," Ripple replied. "You belong at Battlecast, with the rest of the best, not at some dead-end backwater academy."

That was another oddity about Ripple that Codi taken time to fathom. As an angry, volatile individual she held grudges better than most people, but her team mate couldn't have been more different. This was the girl Codi had eliminated in brutal fashion in last year's quarter final, but hearing her speak now it sounded for all the world like the clash had never happened.

It was a little weird at first, until she realised that Ripple was a consummate professional. She didn't care about her own standing in the tournament. All she cared about was ensuring Battlecast fielded the best possible Gauntlet fighters. Knowing she'd been accepted as someone who could further that goal gave Codi a measure of both pride and confidence.

Ripple motioned back towards the group with a flick of her head. "Come on, time to load up. Just try not to start a fight until you get told to." A rare smile flickered across the young woman's features as she turned and glided off. Codi followed, gripping the straps of her rucksack tightly. No matter how confident she might be she couldn't totally shut off the nervous knotting in her stomach.

Joining the group of twenty or so young fighters she took stock of the current batch. Most of them looked like new recruits – teenagers joining up to take a shot at competing for the first time. She recognised one or two from last year's competition, but none that had made any real impact. Within this group she and Ripple were veritable celebrities. She caught one girl who couldn't have been older than sixteen staring at her with something that could only be described as awe stamped on her features.

They all bundled out of the foyer into the streets of Minneapolis St. Paul, where a hulking mag-bus waited for them. The silver-hulled behemoth hummed with energy, its repellor drives currently on standby as it waited to load its cargo. The double doors in its midsection slid apart, revealing a man in Battlecast attire, though he was too old to be a fighter. He grinned at the assembled group.

"Well, here's a right bloodthirsty group, no mistake," he chuckled. "So, how about it then? Are you all ready to get stuck in for the new season?"

A raucous roar of assent greeted him.

"Then all aboard!" he shouted, his grin widening to split his face in two. "Next stop: Battlecast Academy!"

A whoop of anticipation and excitement exploded from the group and they piled into the comparatively narrow opening with a childish eagerness. Despite herself, Codi couldn't help getting caught up in the moment and she rushed to join them. They joined another twenty or so Battlecast recruits already on board, sliding into smooth-backed fabric seats, talking animatedly about the academy, the training and the competition.

Codi dropped into a seat alongside Ripple, feeling her heart beginning to beat just a bit faster. The adrenaline was starting to flow and it had been too long since she'd really felt the thrill of competition. Taking a long, slow breath she tried to keep calm. One thing at a time.

The bus's engines came to life with a rumble and she felt the slight lurch in her stomach that told her they were airborne. Looking out of the window she saw the windows of the tower block flashing by as they ascended into one of the sky lanes. Then the bus reached altitude and swung away, slotting into the flow of traffic hundreds of feet above the ground. Codi tried to ignore the slight discomfort that began to grow in the base of her stomach.

The conversation inside the vehicle flew thick and fast as the now almost fifty potential Battlecast fighters chattered like school children on a field trip. They were children though, Codi thought, mostly. Plenty would be juggling studies with their Gauntlet commitments even if they qualified for the tournament itself. She caught snatches here and there – a lot of people talked about Bruno Varlin, last year's winner – but she discerned her name more than once. A few rows ahead she saw the same awestruck girl turn in her seat to look back at her. Then a boy opposite threw a scowl in her direction. She dimly recognised him.

"That's Jaxo," Ripple said as though she'd read her mind. "He competed last year. Made it as far as the groups."

"What's his beef with me?"

"You're probably going to be in the first team," she replied. "Jaxo thought he was in line for a spot. No-one expected the academy to sign you up so quickly."

"Hardly my fault." Codi shrugged.

"Be careful," Ripple said. "Like it or not, some of these jealous idiots are going to end up as your team mates later on. Don't let them get to you. It'll pass. After a few days at the academy they'll having bigger things to worry about."

Codi gave her a confused look. "Like what?"

"There'll be easily a hundred and fifty kids at the academy. Only twenty of us will qualify for the Gauntlet."

"Oh."

"They need to focus on impressing the trainers, not bullying the new arrivals." With that Ripple settled back into her seat and closed her eyes. Codi blew out her cheeks in a sigh and tried to follow suit.

The flight through the city took half an hour. They cleared the forest of glittering skyscrapers and passed into a yawning open space ringed with grass cloisters. And right in the middle of it, seating like a king upon a throne, was the monolithic bulk of the Battlecast Gauntlet Academy itself.

She'd seen it before, but the massive structure never ceased to amaze her. From a central pyramid shaped tower it sprawled out across a huge area, made up of a dozen connected buildings from gymnasiums, to practice arenas, to tutoring rooms and onsite accommodation. The walls were built from a sleek, dark ceramic that glinted viciously under the Earth sun. Mounted on the pyramid's northern face was an immense Battlecast logo at least forty feet across. Two overlapping stars – one blue, one cyan – formed the backdrop to a diagonally positioned 'B' and 'C.' It was an emblem associated with decades of power and success.

Her heart really started going when the bus began to descend again, and she spotted two other identical vehicles emblazoned with the academy crest moving to join them. If all three were full then Ripple's estimate of a hundred and fifty fighters would be bang on.

A whoop of anticipation from the other recruits accompanied the jolt of landing and as soon as the doors opened they flooded out into the academy forecourt. Codi joined the throng and found herself out in the cool, clean air, staring up at the daunting central monolith of Battlecast. A scrolling text above the main doors beamed out: BATTLECAST WELCOMES YOU!

The whole event had a carnival atmosphere to it, and when all three buses had disgorged their eager cargoes well over a hundred young bundles of energy stood crackling outside the main doors. Even Ripple watched intensely as a woman in Battlecast livery stepped out of the gaping main entrance and raised both hands to quiet the buzzing crowd.

"Ladies and gentlemen," the newcomer began, her voice amplified by some system Codi couldn't see. "My name is Bronagh Llewellyn, and I am the head combat instructor. I want to be the first to welcome you all to Battlecast Academy and to the beginning of our new campaign."

She allowed a brief outbreak of excited cheering to follow her statement. Codi, however, was far more interested in the woman than the words. So this would be the person training her for round two at the Gauntlet? She was a tall, whippy individual with sharp, calculating features and red hair tied into a tight bun. Her voice sounded calm, strong and commanding, befitting, Codi supposed, for the head instructor of the most prestigious academy in space. Then she glanced at Ripple and saw a look of confusion stamped on her features.

"What's up?" she whispered.

"I've never seen her before," Ripple answered, not take her eyes off the instructor. "She's new."

"Huh?"

"She wasn't our instructor last year. No-one told us they'd hired a new instructor." An edge of unease crept into her normally unflappable tone. Codi frowned but said nothing as Bronagh continued.

"Battlecast has a reputation for excellence," she declared. "It is a reputation that we seek to maintain and build upon, and I have not doubt that all of you will help contribute to that."

More cheering. Codi noted with some amusement that this woman omitted the fact that only one in eight of the fighters present would actually be picked to compete. Was it a cruel ploy or carefully worded encouragement?

"Now, I am not one for speeches." Bronagh flashed a vulpine smile. "So without further ado, let the 3036 Battlecast Gauntlet season begin!" She stepped to one side and made a sweeping gesture with one arm. The two huge crystal slabs that formed the main door slid apart, revealing the academy's foyer beyond. However, Ripple didn't join the immediate rush and Codi found herself wondering why her team mate was so ill-at-ease.

"What's the big deal?" she asked. "So you've got a new instructor."

"In this academy the head instructor is practically God," Ripple shot back. "When they're replaced there's usually a whole media circus, news reports, scandals, some kind of hubbub. I've never seen that woman before."

Codi's mouth twisted in thought. "So why wouldn't they tell you?"

"I don't know." Ripple looked at her, suspicion clear in her eyes. "But I don't like it."